Written by

Eric D. Lawrence and Gina Damron

Detroit Free Press Staff Writers

Adrian Tubbs, 23, left and her fiance Jamel Witcher Sr., 24, are grieving the loss of their four-year-old son Jamel Witcher Jr. at their home on Detroit's West side. / Regina H. Boone/Detroit Free Press

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The results of an autopsy completed today on a 4-year-old Detroit boy killed this week confirm that he died of a gunshot wound to the chest.

The death has been ruled a homicide, according to information from the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The boy, identified by family as Jamel Witcher Jr., died after he was shot in the chest by his cousin Thursday in a house on Tuxedo Street on Detroit’s west side, police said earlier this week.

According to police, the cousin, a 4-year-old girl, found the gun near a bed, picked it up and shot the boy, although the girl’s father has questioned whether she was big enough to pick up the loaded rifle.

A 66-year-old man and a woman, identified by family for an earlier Free Press story as the children’s grandmother and her husband, were in the home on Tuxedo Street when the shooting happened and are being held by police on unrelated warrants. They have not been charged in connection with the shooting.

The man at home during the shooting told police he and the two 4-year-olds were watching television about 4:40 p.m. Thursday when he heard a loud bang and saw Jamel fall over, according to police.